Microphone support



Nov. 25, 1958 M. BONNAFFOUS MICROPHONE SUPPORT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 25, 1956 Hi I, Q

Nov. 25, 1958 M. BONNAFFOUS MICROPHONE SUPPORT 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 25, 1956 10 7% may Nov. 25, 1958 M. BONNAFFOUS MICROPHONE SUPPORT 3 SheetsSheet 3 Filed July 25, 1956 United StatesPatent MICROPHONE SUPPORT Maurice Bonnatfous, Paris, France, assignor to Socit Socapex, Suresnes, France, a corporation of France Application July 25, 1956, Serial No. 599,963 Claims priority, application France September 29, 1955 13 Claims. (Cl. 179-156) This invention relates to support for microphones.

Current equipmentfor pilots and other crew members of modern military aircraft usually includes a helmet for protection against impacts. Such a helmet is worn over a tight-fitting fabric headgear or bonnet which supports radio-receiver equipment. The fabric headgear includes a headband and depending side or check flaps provided with snap-fastener means for attaching an oxygen respirator, which latter generally supports a microphone attached thereto.

In cases where respiratory equipment is not essential, speech transmission may either be effected through a laryngophone or with an angularly adjustable microphone mounted on rails and directly secured to the top of the helmet.

I) While this last mentioned solution is highly convenient in practice, it possesses a serious drawback. This is that should the pilot want to remove the helmet during a prolonged flight, he is no longer able to use the microphone.

The invention provides a microphone support which combines the practical advantages of the type of mounting involving attachment to an oxygen mask, with the desirable acoustical transmission characteristics afforded by the adjustable rail-mounted microphone, while at the same time making a microphone available for use by the pilot or other crew member even when the helmet is removed.

According to the invention, a microphone is supported by a rail assembly having its ends secured to the sides of a fabric headgear in a manner providing for easy re- 'rnoval, e. g. through existant snap-fastener means, and in a manner providing for positional adjustment of the microphone.

The invention contemplates a preferred embodiment wherein the attachment comprises at one end, rotatable mounting means whereby the support may be pivoted downwards, so as to move it from a transverse or horizontal position of use to a vertical idle position wherein the nose and mouth of the wearer are completely unobstructed.

The present invention further contemplates an assembly which is simple and convenient to operate and which,

in idle condition, will completely clear the users face.

The invention is further concerned with a microphone support in which the microphone, which is mounted in a suitable casing, is supported by a central U- or V- shaped rail member having diverging arms, which arms serve to mount the member slidably in side rail members, so that the microphone may he slid towards and away from the users month, while the displacement of the microphone casing along an intermediate portion of the central rail member provides a means of lateral adjustment. l

Further considered are means for connecting the support proper with the headgear, including identical components for each of the side rail members and being especially designed for easily shifting the microphone from its operative to its idle condition and vice versa.

The ensuing description, exemplary rather than restrictive, relates to two forms of microphone supports according to the invention. Reference is made to the accompanying drawings whereini Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the inner side of an assembly according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the outer side thereof;

Fig. 3 is a plan view corresponding to Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the assembly in position for use;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the microphone assembly in operative position, for another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a similar view in retracted position;

Fig. 7 is a front view of the apparatus in its position of use, for still another embodiment;

Fig. 8 is a view of the apparatus of Fig. 7 but in clear position; and

Fig. 9 is a larger-scale view of the apparatus removed from the headgear.

A microphone support according to one embodiment of this invention comprises a pair of parallel rails 11 and 12 which define the larger sides of an elongated rectangle, one of the smaller sides of which is designated by 13, the other small side comprising a tubular connecting member 14. The said rectangle is cambered as clearly shown in Fig. 3, by slightly bending the sides 11 and 12 at two spaced points intermediate of their lengths, as shown at 15 and 16 and 15' and 16, so as to conform to the convexity of the human face.

The rails 11 and 12 are slidably mounted at their opposite ends in a pair of plates 17 and 18, respectively, which may be shaped as round discs, and which for this purpose are formed with parallel tunnels or ducts. The plate 13 is secured by means of screws or rivets 19 and the plate 17 is secured by means of a central screw or bolt 35 to flexible flaps or lugs 20 and 21 respectively provided with snap-fastener elements, e. g. the male elements 22, 23, and 24, 25 respectively. The said flaps may thus be fastened to the cheek portions 27 and 28 of the head-gear 29 which are provided with the complementary female snap-fastener elements. These coinplementary elements may be provided in numbers greater than two on each side, as for example, three as shown. The complementary snap fastener elements, which are inoperative in the condition shown in Fig. 4, are visible at 29 and 30.

The microphone 36 is mounted by means of a pair of parallel grooves formed in a plate 37 secured thereto, for sliding movement along the rails 11 and 12.

The connecting cable 38 associated with the microphone is guided by means of a block 39 slidably mounted on the rails 11 and 12.

In order to position the microphone support, it is simply necessary to secure the flaps 20 and 21 to the sides of the headgear 27 and 28, using that pair of snapfasteners which will place the microphone as close as possible, in vertical position, to the mouth of the particular individual wearing the device.

In order to set the microphone 36 to its most convenient position, the user has a number of adjusting means at his disposal. Thus he may slide the rails 11 and 12 in the discs 17 and 18 one way or the other so as to bring the microphone to a suitable distance from his mouth (depth adjustment), such adjustment being made possible owing to the fact that the outer sections of said tails are angled with respect to the central section. He may also displace the microphone supporting plate or disc 37 along the rails in order to adjust the lateral position of the microphone, i. e. its position relative to the vertical mid-plane of the face. Through a combination of both types of adjustments just described, the user is able to bring the microphone to any convenient position he may desire, as for instance close to one side of his mouth, as well as adjusting the distance between his mouth and the microphone to the particular amount affording optimum transmission characteristics.

When desiring to remove the microphone completely clear of his mouth the wearer need merely detach the flap 21 and pivot the support about the axis 35, thereby moving it from-the transverse position to a vertical or downwardly angled position, as shown in dot-dash lines in Fig. 4, so that the assembily will hang completely clear of his face.

Reference is now made to Figs. and 6. The side portions and 101 of the head-band carry press-button or snap-fastener elements, three in number on each side in the example-shown, and designated 102 102 162 for the side 1111 and 1113 103 1113 for side 1111, serving to attach the oxygen respirator, andthe microphone assembly comprises complementary snap fastener elements adapted to cooperate with-those provided on the sides, for attaching said assembly. A pair of such elements 104 104 is carried on the base of a spider-shaped clamp member 105, having e. g. four resilient arms 106 -1196 so that the clamp member may be positioned at different elevations on the car 100. Two snap-fastener elements 107 and 107 are carried on a strip 108 having a plate 110 pivoted to it by a hinge.

In an alternative construction, the element 107 may be rigidly secured to the strip 108 while the element 197 is slidable in a slot formed in the strip 108 to provide adjustment for different widths. The plate 111) has pivoted to it by means of a pin 111 at its end remote from the end Where hinge 109 is attached, a disc 112 formed with a pair of grooves or ducts 113 and 114 in which rails or rods 115 and 116 are slidably mounted. The rails are extended in one direction to provide the microphone supporting frame, which is formed with the configuration of a V or U having wide open arms; the rail portions corresponding to rail portions 115 and 116 on the other arm of the V-shaped frame are designated by the references 117 and 118 respectively. The straight intermediate sections of the rails designated 119 and 120 provide guides for the microphone supporting block or casing 121 which is formed with grooves or ducts 122 and 123 slidably receiving said rail sections 119 and 120 respectively therein. A substantially cylindrical block 124 is slidably mounted on the rail sections 117 and 118 and includes a base 125 formed with perforations or ducts for receiving-the related rail sections therein and said block is adapted to cooperate with the spider clamp 1115 for removable attachment therewith.

In the operative condition shown in Fig. 5, the block 124 cooperates with the spider 105 and the microphone containedin its casing is moved to its most convenient position. For this purpose, a twofold adjustment may'be accomplished. On the one hand, the rail sections 117 and 113 and the rail sections 115 and 116 are displaced in the discs 125 and 112 for moving the microphone away from or towards the users mouth; and secondly, the micro phone is shifted along the rail sections 119 and 120 for lateral adjustment relative to the plane of symmetry of the users face.

To move the assembly to idle position, all the wearer has to do is to withdraw thecylindrical block 124 from the springclamping member 105, using only one hand for this purpose and taking advantage of the resiliency of the spider arm. The hinged support 108, 110 will open out and the microphonetogether with the guide rails will drop completely clear of the face. To restore the assembly to its operative position, the reverse procedure is used, the

block 124 being reinserted into the spider clamp 105;

,each of these operations requires the use of only one hand 4 and is accomplished in a short simple gesture effortlessly and without groping.

Reference is now made to Figs. 7 to 9. The headgear has secured to its lower ends a pair of extension or flaps 151 and 151' having attached thereto in substantial vertical alignment a number (e. g. three) of male pressurefastener members, designated by 152, 153, 154 for the flap 151 and by the same numbers primed for flap 151'; more generally it is noted that all the components that have exact counterparts as between the two sides of the system will be designated by the same reference numbers, except that the numbers designating the left-hand components (with respect to the wearer of the headgear) are primed.

The microphone unit 155 is mounted in a casing 156 and is directly carried by a disc 157 formed with an upper tunnel and a lower tunnel, by means of which the casing is slidably supported in rails 158, 159 which form the intermediate of foremost portion 160 of a U-shaped member having divergent legs 161 and 161, formed by the rails 158 and 159, the latter being interconnected through the side elements 162 and 162". The side portions of rails 158 and 159 extend in tunnels formed in rear plates 163 and 163' respectively integral with front plates 164, 164' also formed with tunnels parallel with the tunnels in the corresponding rear plates 163, 163, and the tunnels in the front plates being slidably traversed by the rails 165, 166 and 165', 166 respectively. The connccting'portion 167 between rails 165 and 166 is secured by means of a plate 168 on a cup member 169 constituting the female part of a large-size pressure-fastener, cooperating with ama1e pressure-fastener part, which is not visible in Fig. 9, carrying a plate 170 mounted at an adjustable elevation by means of a groove 171 therein, and carrying the female pressure-fastener parts 172 and 173. The connecting portion 167' between rails '165'and 166' serves for rotatably mounting a cup or female part 169 of a large-size pressure-fastener part, the portion 167' being clamped between the outer face of this part 169' and a lever strip 176; the female part 169' coacts with a male fastener part .175 on which is secured, at an adjustable elevation, a plate 170 carrying the female parts of the pressure-fasteners 172 and 173.

The microphone support thus described is secured to one check or flap portion of the headgear through cooperation of the pair of pressure-fasteners 172 and 173 with two of the cooperatingpressure-fastener parts, e. g. 153, 154 carried by one of the flaps such as flap 151. The pressurefasteners 172 and 173 moreover cooperate with the pressure-fastener parts carried'by the other flap of the headgear, i. e. parts 153' and 154 in this instance. In the condition of use of the microphone (Fig. 7), the large-size pressure-fastener parts 169, cooperate with each other so that the microphone support is then rigidly fastened to the headgear. in this condition, the spacing of the microphone from the users mouth may be adjusted simply by sliding the central rail members 161, 161' with respect to the side rails 165, 166, this sliding movement resulting in an effective shortening of the divergent arms of the U. Lateral adjustment of the mircophone is effected by sliding the microphone casing 156 with respect to the intermediate portions of the central rail portions. To clear the microphone from the face, all the user has to do is to pull the lever strip 174 which is formed with an end projection 176 for this purpose. This action disengages the large-size pressurefastener parts 175, 169' from each other and. themicrophone-supporting rails as a whoie can be swung about the connecting'portion 167. This produces the configuration illustrated in Pig. 2, wherein the face is completely cleared. To restore the microphone to condition of use, a reverse procedure is followed. The rotatable mounting of the cup member 169 facilitates disengagement and positioning of the cooperating parts of the large-size pressure fasteners.

If it is desired to clear the users face by swinging the assembly towards the users left side rather than towards the right side as shown in Fig. 2, the pressure-fastener carrying plate 170 would be detached from the left flap 151 of the headgear, while the pressure-fastener carrying plate 170 would be secured to the right headgear flap 151. The assembly would be mounted in a symmetrical manner to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and would operate in a similar way, except that it would swing leftward of the user.

The symmetrical disposition of the assembly reduces the number of parts required in constructing it.

Microphone adjustment involves only a small displacement over the central part only of the rail or rails.

All the components are of a rugged design, especially those requiring frequent actuation for placing the microphone into and out of its position of use.

What I claim is:

1. A microphone assembly which comprises, a headband having depending side portions, rail means, cooperating removable fastener means on the ends of said rail means and on said head-band side portions respec tively, a microphone, a support for said microphone and means on said support adapted from sliding cooperation with said rail means for moving said microphone to a selected position along said rail means.

2. A microphone transmitter system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide rail means are mouned on the headgear through hinge means.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the securing means comprise means for connecting the rail means to theheadgear by manual pressure.

4. A system according to claim 1 comprising a block coupled to said rail means and wherein the headgear comprises a resilient clamp, said block and said clamp cooperating for connecting said rail means with said headgear by manual pressure of the block into the clamp, and for disconnecting said rail means from the headgear by manual withdrawal of the block out of the clamp.

5. A system as claimed in claim 1 comprising a block coupled to said rail means and wherein the headgear comprises a spring clamp, said block and clamp cooperating for connecting the rail means with the headgear by manually pressing the block into the clamp and disconnecting the rail means from the headgear by manually withdrawing the block from the clamp, said block being mounted for sliding displacement along the rail means.

6. A microphone transmitter system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rail means are mounted on the headgear through hinge means, said hinge means being mounted for sliding displacement along the rail means.

7. A microphone transmitter assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rail means comprise a central U- shaped portion with diverging arms and side portions slidably mounted relative to said central portion.

8. A microphone transmitter assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rail means comprise a U-shaped central portion with diverging arms and side portions slidably mounted relative to said central portion, the microphone being slidably mounted on the cross-member of the U-shaped central portion of the rail means.

9. A microphone transmitter assembly according to claim 1, wherein the means for securing the rail means to said headgear comprise a snap fastener means and a pivoted connecting means.

10. A microphone transmitter assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for securing the rail means to the headgear are detachable on both sides of the headgear.

11. A headgear microphone assembly comprising, headgear including depending cheek portions, fastener members on said cheek portions, a pair of flaps and fastener members on said flaps cooperable with said first mentioned fastener members for detachably fastening said flaps to said cheek portions, plate means supported on the respective flaps and having guide means thereon, rail means bridging said respective plate means adapted for sliding engagement with said guide means thereon adjacent the respective ends of said rail means, and a microphone support mounted on said rails for sliding displacement therealong.

12. An assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein said rail means comprise a substantially straight central section and side sections at an angle to said central section on each side thereof.

13. An assembly as claimed in claim 11, wherein one of said plate means is supported on its respective fiap for rotation relative thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,8 10,549 

